Today, the Newport Historical Society launched the Voices Campaign to raise $4.5 million to create a center for Black history in Newport. The campaign is off to a strong start thanks to a leadership gift from philanthropists and historic preservation champions Edward Kane and his wife, Martha Wallace.
According to the Newport Historical Society, the center for Black history builds on important work to date, including digitizing more than 4,000 records through the Voices from the NHS Archives database and the ongoing exhibition, A Name. A Voice. A Life: The Black Newporters of the 17th-19th Centuries.
Collectively, these efforts illustrate how Newport’s story is inextricably intertwined with the transatlantic slave trade and the experiences of enslaved people. The center will be a place to explore this history, housed in the 327-year-old Wanton-Lyman-Hazard House at 17 Broadway, a National Historic Landmark and the oldest surviving home in Newport.
“One of Newport’s greatest strengths is the diversity of our community and how it has long informed our historic significance, cultural vibrance, and strong sense of connection,” said Newport Mayor Xay Khamsyvoravong. “To fully embrace our sense of city pride, we must embrace the experiences of all Newporters, especially those from the most challenging chapters of our history. I congratulate the Newport Historical Society for working tirelessly to center the Black experience in Newport, and I look forward to the eventual ribbon cutting for this essential place of history and community.”
Also advancing the effort is a $300,000 Save America’s Treasures grant secured with the help of U.S. Senator Jack Reed, who visited the Wanton-Lyman-Hazard House Monday for a tour and celebration of the earmark.
Leadership donor Edward Kane, for whom the Edward W. Kane Library of the Newport Historical Society is named, is a longtime supporter of the organization. He is a strong advocate for historic preservation in Newport, and likewise supports museums and historic organizations across New England and beyond.
“The keepers of our past and its treasured artifacts–like the Newport Historical Society–have a tremendous responsibility to ensure that history is not forgotten, and that the community today has the opportunity to be educated and inspired by the people, events, and experiences that informed our current context,” said Edward Kane. “I am encouraged by the Society’s vision to make Newport history more inclusive and engaging and look forward to seeing the Wanton-Lyman-Hazard House transformed.”
“I am incredibly grateful to Senator Reed, Ed Kane and Marty Wallace, and all our Board members, supporters, and valued community partners who have already stepped forward to accelerate this important initiative,” said Rebecca Bertrand, executive director of the Newport Historical Society. “Our collections and properties, including the Wanton-Lyman-Hazard House, have long contained the artifacts of this critical chapter in our history. I invite all in our community to support this effort and join us in the pursuit of a better understanding of our shared past and how it informs our lives today.”
Programming will be designed with the community and community-based organizations that have been essential in informing and enriching this work with Newport Historical Society.
“The experience of Black people in Newport–enslaved and free–is central to the history of Newport, yet our voices remain underrepresented. We must do more to make our stories, our people, and our contributions to this city more accessible, and this alliance is an important step forward,” said Victoria Johnson, a founding member of the Newport Middle Passage and Port Marker Project, and a partner and a driving force in this effort. “By supporting this effort and the critical partner organizations that have long been leaders in this space, the community has an opportunity to be a part of something very important in Newport.”
The Wanton-Lyman-Hazard House was built for Stephen Mumford, a merchant and a founding member of Newport’s Seventh Day Baptist congregation. It has been home to Loyalists, Revolutionary War soldiers, merchants, and generations of Newporters, including enslaved Africans Briston, Jenny, Casen, and Cardardo, who lived and labored in the home. As a center for Black history, this treasured property will find a new purpose and provide once more opportunities for the community to explore, learn, and connect.
“Newport is known to many as the City by the Sea, a summer playground for the nation’s wealthiest family dynasties, and a place to experience the glamour of the Gilded Age. You cannot understand that side of our history without also exploring the fundamental role of the Black and Indigenous people in the city’s foundation,” said Doug Newhouse, chair of the NHS Board of Directors. “On behalf of the Board, we are excited to see this campaign kick off and are proud of the vision and leadership of Rebecca and the NHS team in ensuring that we represent a more comprehensive and inclusive history in Newport.”
The NHS hopes to break ground on construction before 2025. Infrastructure improvements needed include a new HVAC system with humidity control, an ADA accessible entrance and lobby, functional restrooms, a new roof, and upgraded electrical systems, among other projects. The Voices Campaign also includes plans for a permanent program director position, building out a vision for public programming, and both fixed and rotating exhibitions on Black history.
To learn more about the Voices Campaign, visit www.voices.newporthistory.org.
More From Senator Reed
Senator Jack Reed’s office shared the following press release following the event;
From Slavery to Freedom and Survival to Achievement: Reed Helps Newport Historical Society Preserve Historic Wanton-Lyman-Hazard House & Make it a New Hub for Learning About the Black Experience in Rhode Island
NEWPORT, RI – Standing in front of the oldest surviving residence in Newport, U.S. Senator Jack Reed today joined the Newport Historical Society (NHS) to deliver nearly $400,000 in federal funds to help historians preserve the Wanton-Lyman-Hazard House (WLHH) and use it as a multi-purpose center and museum that elevates the stories of enslaved and freed Africans, African Americans, and their descendants.
The NHS is taking steps to preserve the major landmark which was built during the 1690s – around the same time that “the first slaving voyage to bring captive Africans to Rhode Island took place in 1696, when a Boston ship, the Seaflower, brought forty-seven captives from the coast of Africa and sold fourteen of them in Newport.”
Reed says he hopes the renovated WLHH will draw people to learn more about Black history and illuminate the early Black experience in Newport from slavery to freedom and from survival to achievement.
Upgrades made possible by Senator Reed’s $300,000 federal earmark will help fix issues with the building’s exterior and foundation, increase accessibility in accordance with ADA standards, and install plumbing, electrical upgrades, an HVAC system, safety features, and other improvements to make the museum safe and comfortable for visitors. Reed also helped secure a $91,260 federal Preservation Planning grant from the U.S. National Park Service last month to assist the Newport Historical Society with their project titled “Interpretive Planning for the c. 1697 Wanton-Lyman-Hazard House, Anchor Site on the Washington-Rochambeau Revolutionary Route Historic Trail.”
“The Wanton-Lyman-Hazard house has many important stories to tell about Newport, our nation’s founding, and our evolution as a community and society. The Newport Historical Society is doing critical work preserving and sharing the history of this home and the people who lived here, and uncovering the stories that were too often pushed aside or forgotten,” said Senator Reed, a senior member of the Appropriations Committee. “I am proud to deliver this federal funding to ensure the history of enslaved and freed Africans in Newport does not gather dust in the attic. We must preserve and share this history and make it accessible to the broadest audience possible.”
“I am incredibly grateful to Senator Reed for being an early believer in and champion for this project and for creating a designated space for Black history in Newport,” said Rebecca Bertrand, executive director of the Newport Historical Society. “Our collections and properties, including the Wanton-Lyman-Hazard House, have long contained the artifacts of this critical chapter in our history. I invite the community to join us in the pursuit of a better understanding of our shared past and how it informs our lives today, and we look forward to welcoming many visitors to the Wanton-Lyman-Hazard House in the future.”
Once home to two Governors of Rhode Island, who were father and son, the WLHH also housed the families of John G. Wanton, a Quaker lawyer; Daniel Lyman, an officer in George Washington’s army; and Benjamin Hazard, who served as a Speaker of the Rhode Island House of Representatives. A number of enslaved Africans also resided in the attic of the house, including: Briston, Jenny, and Casen during Howard’s ownership, and Cardardo during Wanton’s ownership.
Cardardo Wanton, who was manumitted in 1775, served in the Continental Army during the American Revolution. In 2005, representatives of the Newport Historical Society working in the attic found a nkisi bundle beneath the floorboards that was likely owned by Cardardo Wanton. These artifacts have been displayed at the Smithsonian’s National Museum of African American History and Culture in Washington, DC and are currently on display through 2026 as part of “Entwined: Freedom, Sovereignty and the Sea,” at the Mystic Seaport Museum.
The NHS purchased the run-down property in 1927 and undertook efforts to stabilize and refurbish the structure and opened the house for public tours in 1929.
For nearly a century, there has been an ongoing effort to work with top recognized experts to preserve the house. However, due to the condition of and limited accessibility to the historic home, the WLHH has been closed to visitors for years.
When completed, a center for Black history at the WLHH will serve as a collaborative space for local Black history organizations. The 327-year-old home that once housed slaves will become a hub for learning more about enslaved people, their descendants who followed, and diverse and overlooked stories about the people who built and shaped Newport, Rhode Island, and the United States of America. Programming for a center will be designed in conjunction with longstanding key community partners of NHS including Newport Middle Passage Port Marker Project.
I was disappointed that WUN did not include a comment from Charles Roberts, Executive Director of the RI Slave History Medallions organization (and pictured in the photo) for this article. It seemed odd that a piece about an upcoming black history museum would only have comments from its white sponsors, yet leave out commentary from those who have worked to make black history more visible in Newport, not to mention living it in the present. It was a blatant example of how black voices get overlooked, while the white “voices” get the recognition. Also, please include the names/title attributions of the people shown in the accompanying photo. Otherwise, thank you very much for including this article in the August 20th issue. You compile a nice collection of info about Newport that is greatly appreciated!